Domestic workers exploited, says EU

THE hidden scandal of how Irish employers take advantage of foreign domestic workers without work permits has been exposed by an EU study.

The report, which examined 10 EU states, told of one Irish family who lied to their Philippine home-help for more than six years, telling her they were applying for a work permit for her, but never bothered.

She had two children during that time and they fired her at the end of both pregnancies so they wouldn’t have to pay her. In the end she had to try to make a living from several jobs, such as cleaning, looking after an elderly person and babysitting.